26TH “BUD STANFIELD MEMORIAL” AT SANTA MARIA SATURDAY
1ST 360 WIN FOR GUTIERREZ AT HANFORD
Richard VanderWeerd will try to hold on to his USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car point lead this Saturday when the series returns to Santa Maria (Calif.) Speedway for the 26th Annual “Bud Stanfield Memorial.”
VanderWeerd sits 52 points ahead of Ryan Bernal in the latest standings after finishing third in last Saturday night’s “Jim Turner Memorial” at Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif. Bernal finished second at Hanford.
Wes Gutierrez of San Martin, Calif. led wire-to-wire to win Saturday night’s Hanford feature. Trailing him, Bernal and VanderWeerd were fast qualifier Greg Alexander and Danny Sheridan. Gutierrez piloted the WM Motorsports/Competition Suspension DRC/Borello.
So far this year, Santa Maria has hosted three West Coast 360 races. Bernal has won the last two, while Jace VanderWeerd, third in the new series standings, won the other. Although Richard VanderWeerd’s best finish at Santa Maria this year has been a third, he has been the fastest qualifier there twice.
USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS
1-Richard VanderWeerd-694; 2-Ryan Bernal-642; 3-Jace VanderWeerd-600; 4-Wes Gutierrez-586; 5-Danny Faria Jr.-550; 6-Dennis Howell-511; 7-Justyne Hamblin-474; 8-Greg Alexander-461; 9-T.J. Smith-437; 10-Rusty Carlile-395.
